L's Great Factory
by TuneoftheMoon
Summary: L. The smartest man alive. And the world's best chocolatier and candy connoisseur. What happens when this man places five tickets in his chocolate? (This is a Death Note and Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory crossover)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

L. The smartest man alive. And the world's best chocolatier and candy connoisseur.

On January 13th, L decided to give a little something extra in some of his treats. He gave a televised speech describing this extra something.

" _Dear inhabitants of the world: I, L, have chosen to elect a successor to my factory. In order to choose this successor, I have created five golden tickets, and put those five tickets in five separate chocolate bars of random variety and random destination. The five who discover these chocolate bars will be allowed to attend my candy factory on the last day of next month: February 28_ _th at 2:30 p.m_ _. The age of the attendee does not matter, but it is requested that each has one guardian with them. Whether or not they win my name, each participant will receive a lifetime supply of my products. That is all."_

Naturally, the video caused an international uproar. People immediately flooded every candy store on the planet, desperate for the chance to meet, let alone become, the fabled L.

One child in particular, however, didn't seem very interested. He'd rather play with his toys instead of wasting his money on sweets. The pale boy curled a lock of snow-white hair between his fingers as he carefully stacked dice into a complicated skyscraper.

But as the scramble for the tickets continued, he pondered the opportunity of what they promised. Once the first ticket was found, his desire to obtain a ticket was sealed and justified.

On January 14th, only one day after the tickets were first announced, newspapers all over the world showed the same headline and article:

 **L'S FIRST GOLDEN TICKET FOUND**

 **Late last night, a young man from Los Angeles is said to have discovered the first of five golden tickets from the famed L's chocolate and candy company.**

" **It wasn't all that unexpected, really," the discoverer, 19-year-old "Mello" (name changed upon request) explains. "I buy at least three chocolate bars a day from this guy's company, so I wasn't too surprised that I got one."**

Near's eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly at the mention of the alias "Mello". _So he's found the first,_ he thought. _God knows what he'll do if he wins the name._

That same day, a package came in the mail addressed to Near. There was no return address. "Careful! We can't be sure if the package is rigged," Halle Lidner, one of Near's special agents, said.

"Don't be ridiculous." Near brushed off the warning, getting a pair of scissors and opening the box. It was empty, but further inspection revealed a note that gave a single letter: M.

"Tch." Near resisted crumpling the note in his hands. It was just like him to send a taunt like that. "Lidner, go out and buy a few of L's chocolate bars." He kept his voice flat and monotone.

Lidner opened her mouth to respond, but thought better of it and left.

Anthony Rester said what Lidner didn't. "Near, I thought you didn't like sweets."

"I don't." Near curled a lock of hair thoughtfully. "But I thought it would be a good idea to try anyway. After all, I have just as much a chance as anybody to get one."

Rester thought on that last sentence, and nodded in agreement.

Lidner returned a short time later, pulling four candy bars out from her purse.

"Thank you, Lidner," Near said simply, taking the four bars and setting them beside him.

"This is highly irrational, Near. What if one of those does contain a ticket?" Lidner stood high above the little white ball that had gone back to stacking dice.

Near lifted a shoulder, and let it drop. "Then we go to this factory and see it for ourselves. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as I'm sure you realize."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"It's been found. The second ticket was found." Stephen Gevanni handed a page of the newspaper to Near.

 **SECOND GOLDEN TICKET FOUND IN JAPAN**

 **Yesterday afternoon, on the 16** **th** **of January, the media of Japan exploded at the news of the second of L's five golden tickets being found. Light Yagami, a 23-year-old residing in Japan, was said to have been given the ticket from his father as a congratulations for becoming a detective.**

 **"** **I've actually been wanting to meet this L character for quite some time now," he said to interviewers upon the subject of the creator of the tickets. "And now that I have a ticket, I'll finally be able to see for myself."**

A photo beside the article showed a young man in a suit with short, light brown hair and a curious smile on his face.

Near examined the photo, then tossed the article to the side in favor of his favorite white puzzle.

As the days and weeks went on, headlines of tickets being found appeared everywhere. The third was found; the third finding was false. The third found for real, again in Japan by an actress named Misa Amane, one of her fans having given her the ticket. Several headlines of the fourth, even the fifth being found, all turning out bogus.

The papers fell silent for a while, moving on to other issues and trailing away from the gold frenzy.

That is, until January 22nd, when a breaking news broadcast restarted the desperate mad dash.

 **Breaking news! The fourth golden ticket from L's chocolate has been found. Again, the fourth ticket from L has been found.**

 **The fourth lucky soul, "Matt" as he requested to be called, says that he found the ticket using his simple method of observing the shipping schedules of L's company, and calculated the exact locations and times when the tickets would arrive, even the particular chocolate's barcode.**

 **He says he simply chose the location closest to him, a small shop in England, and bought the winning bar.**

The television switched to a video of the winner being interviewed: a tall, lanky boy with dyed red hair and goggles framing his face. He wore stripes and a fur vest, all adding up to a rather strange-looking outfit.

Near tensed. Only one left.

Gevanni glanced at Near. "I don't think this is worth it. Everyone who's found tickets so far are, to put it lightly, extremely bizarre. You should probably just give up and accept that you won't find the ticket."

"I have to," Near said firmly. "If Mello inherits L's name, just think of what'll happen!" He was getting emotional, not a good sign.

Gevanni thought it best not to pry further, and walked out of the room to go tend to other things.

 _I have to find the last ticket._ Near thought, his eyes darkening.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It had been forever since the fourth ticket had been found, and to be quite frank, Near was getting a tad desperate. In fact, the date was February 26th, two days before the deadline. He was even considering falling to stealing.

Fortunately, the consideration didn't win out… well, unless you call borrowing a few dollars from Lidner's purse stealing.

Near, with the money in hand, snuck out of headquarters and went quickly to the nearest convenience store. The clerk looked at him strangely, but asked simply, "Whaddya want, kid?"

"Three chocolate bars, please," Near said neutrally.

The clerk turned around to get the candy. "What flavors?"

"Just plain," Near said, feeling himself get impatient.

The bars were set on the counter, and Near handed the clerk the money before wordlessly exiting the store.

He stood outside the store, only a few feet away. He put two of the bars in his pocket, keeping one out.

He opened the first bar. There was no ticket. He took the second bar out of his pocket, and opened it only to find nothing.

He took the third bar out much more slowly than the other two.

Carefully, Near peeled the wrapping of the chocolate, almost publicly displaying his anticipation.

"….!" He drew in sharp breath, tearing the wrapper off.

…

…

…

Nothing.

No gold.

He should've thought so. Someone else had no doubt found it by now. Why was he even looking for this anyway? He didn't even like candy, much less chocolate.

He let his arm drop, almost surprising himself at how disappointed he was.

Then something shiny glinted at the corner of his vision. He looked down at his socks – he didn't bother to put shoes on – and his eyes widened.

The ticket was smaller than he thought it would've been. It was only about the size of a ticket one might get at a carnival. The only difference was the pure fact that it was golden, and not cardstock, or whatever carnival tickets are made of.

Near leaned down and picked up the ticket, his eyes stuck wide open. He hurriedly stuffed it into his pocket along with the three chocolate bars, walking back to headquarters as if nothing happened.

He walked into headquarters, and immediately faced Lidner's piercing stare. "Where were you?" she demanded, her hands on her hips like she was reprimanding her own son.

Wordlessly, Near smiled, which freaked Lidner out. He rarely _ever_ smiled; should she be worried?

Near curled a lock of hair between two fingers, and silently pulled the three bars and golden ticket out.

Lidner just about fainted. "I-wh-…"

Near spoke with almost-condescending normality. "I will need someone to accompany me in the factory two days from now." He turned his head until his gaze settled on Rester. "Rester, would you come with me to the factory?"

Rester nodded, always quick to assist Near. "Of course," he said.

Near smiled. He was going to win this.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Two days later, everyone was in front of the factory. EVERYONE. Just outside the gates of the coveted building were the ticket winners and their guardians, almost crushed against it by a record-sized throng of eager people.

Near looked back at the crowd, then up at Rester. Rester stared straight ahead; he seemed nervous, but Near didn't poke interest. Instead, he observed the other winners.

The first winner, Mello. He was accompanied by a large, muscular man. He looked like he was from, and in fact was, part of a crime syndicate. Near knew him, Rod Ross – as his adversaries called him – the two of them must've been working together.

Mello himself had a determined stare, his gaze not leaving the factory's front doors. He was eating a chocolate bar (of course), getting looks of slight disdain from the other contenders.

Especially from Misa Amane, the actress who had received the ticket from a desperate fan. Accompanying her was a jumpy young man, Touta Matsuda. He seemed to be the most excited one there. "Aren't you excited, Misa? Soon we'll be face-to-face with the best candy maker in the entire world!"

She smiled, her dark red lip gloss shining. "Of course! Why wouldn't I be excited?"

Near moved on to the next ticket-finder, Light Yagami. He was tall, and his face was just as determined as Mello's, but his was hiding other emotions. An older man was his guardian. Near knew he was Light's father, Soichiro; he had Lidner look him up. Near had a feeling that Light would be a special factor in this.

And last but not least was Matt. He was wearing the exact same clothes he wore for the interview, the only difference being that the goggles weren't covering his eyes, instead perched over his hair. He casually smoked a cigarette as he stood alone, no guardian or companion.

The clock tower in the background's minute hand struck the 6, and out of nowhere, a loud, distorted voice resounded.

 _"_ _Welcome to my factory. I am L, as you all know. I am sure that you are all excited, but I must ask that when the gates open, only the winners come inside."_

Suddenly, the massive gates lurched, and slowly opened. The winners stepped forward, and Misa gave a cautious glance over her shoulder at the overwhelming crowd.

As soon as the nine were inside, the doors stopped, and switched directions.

The group kept walking forward in their neat line, and the doors to the factory opened, beckoning them inside.

What was just inside had their jaws floored. They all had expected this shining star of a man with perfect clothes and all that; instead, they were greeted by a wrinkled white dress shirt and messy black hair hidden under a beat-up top hat. He didn't even wear shoes. The only "nice" thing about him was the gleaming "L" that adorned the hat.

The unkempt man lifted his hat and bowed, much more polite than his appearance would let on. "Greetings. Welcome to my factory."

" _You're_ L?" Mello almost spat out his mouthful of chocolate.

L nodded, placing his hat delicately back on his head. "And you are all the winners?"

The five nodded, their guardians not responding.

"Excellent. Now, before we enter, may I have everyone's names?" He pointed to Mello. "Starting here."

"My name's Mello, and I've gotta say, I am a huge fan of your stuff, especially the chocolate." Mello gave a lopsided grin.

"I'm Misa Amane, I'm sure you've heard of me. I'm kinda famous."

"Light Yagami. I've actually wanted to meet you for a long time now, so I'm very honored." Light bowed slightly.

"Matt. I'm only here because I've got nothing better to do yet," Matt said flatly, flicking his cigarette into the February snow surrounding them.

"Near." He didn't go into details, he honestly just wanted to get this over with now that he was there.

L nodded after each said their name, but took a special interest in Near. "Well, come on then. Let us enter the factory."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

L ushered the group into the gigantic building, and their jaws dropped for the second time in ten minutes.

It was so plain and white on the outside, but once they entered the doors, their eyes hurt from the sudden explosions of color and beauty.

"Certainly can't judge this book by its cover, huh?" Mello said to no one in particular.

"It's beautiful!" Misa gasped in awe.

"Let's start the tour, lots to see, little time," L said, his voice and face expressionless.

He led them all to a wide door at the end of a tall hallway. The door had a large "L" painted on it against a white background, a stark contrast from the colorful everything-else.

 _Ego much?_ Mello thought.

"Wow, L, this is amazing!" Light said, staring at the high ceiling with wonderment.

Matt stood beside Mello wordlessly.

L retrieved a small key from his pocket, and unlocked the towering doors. They pushed open automatically, surely too heavy for any human to push.

Number three of jaw-dropping moments that day. A full-on landscape of vibrant Suess-like plants and trees seemingly straight from a Tim Burton movie took center stage in their fields of vision.

"Our first stop is right here," L began. "Everything in the room is edible, but I ask that you don't drink from the waterfall."

"There's a waterfall!?" Matt exclaimed. His eyes would've popped out of his head if not for his goggles.

L nodded. "It's liquid chocolate, but it is the purest chocolate that I use for my chocolate bars, of which you five received the tickets from. If any foreign matter gets into it – and we take great care not to let that happen – it could compromise the properties of the finished product."

"We?" Rod Ross asked suspiciously. "The only person I've seen so far is you."

L ignored him, instead waving his arm in front of the doorframe to the edible earth inside. "You may enter now."

Mello was the first to sprint inside, making a running leap into a twisted dark chocolate tree and eagerly picking leaves.

The others seemed too awestruck to enter, but soon gained the same excitement as Mello, even Matt. Each found a favorite plant, and they ate happily.

Until, however, they heard a scream from a corner of the room. Everyone ran toward the sound to see what had happened.

Light had been picking candy apples from a sugar tree, when he saw a horrifying... _thing_ , black feathers and silver chain with pointed yellow teeth in a wide, sinister grin. It stared at Light, its unblinking red irises surrounded by yellow boring holes into his soul.

"Ryuk, don't scare the ticket finder," L lightly scolded.

The thing, apparently called Ryuk, turned its head to look at L. "Sorry." It then flew away.

"What _was_ that thing!?" Light asked, shivering.

"That was a Shinigami," L explained. "They help me around the factory, and usually hang about in this area."

"Why didn't we see them before?" Matsuda asked, cradling a foot-long gummy bear in his arms.

L pointed to the gummy bear. "You won't be able to see them unless you eat the candy in this room."

"What about the waterfall? That's part of this room, and that it makes the chocolate bars you sell to everyone," Mello pointed out with an accusing tone.

"Your point?" L stared at Mello, his voice flat.

"I eat at least three of your chocolate bars every day, but still I wasn't able to see the shini-whatsits until I ate the leaves of that tree!" He gestured wildly to a tree stump a few feet away.

"The waterfall is different. Different how, I cannot say, for it is one of my secrets I try so hard to keep." L leaned against a pulled sugar lamppost, breaking off a small piece. He placed it gently on his tongue, giving a silent permission to keep eating.

Near was the only one who wasn't acting like a madman. He sat quietly beside a fondant bush, picking blades of grass. He hadn't eaten anything, so he didn't act out when Light saw the Shinigami.

"Everyone," L called out, his voice echoing. "It's time we continued our tour. Meet me at the base of the waterfall."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Waiting for them all was an ornate boat floating in the liquid chocolate. L stepped on. "Come on the boat, and our tour may continue."

Mello, always eager, was the first to jump onto the boat, followed by Misa and Matsuda, then the rest, with Near and Rester getting on last.

"Now then, everyone hold on." L's calm voice resonated from the tunnel they were beginning to travel through, echoing many times before disappearing into the thin air. "The ride might get a bit bumpy."

Mello didn't want to sit down, he was too excited to see the rest of the factory. The boat lurched as it hit a current, and Mello lost his balance. Rod Ross and Soichiro reached out to catch him, but he fell into the chocolate and was immediately swept away by the current. Everyone fell silent, staring into the chocolate waves with horror.

L didn't seem to notice, instead crouched over in a chair drinking coffee from a clear sugar cup.

"L! Mello just fell off the boat!" Matsuda said, his eyes wide.

"I'm aware of that." L calmly sipped his coffee.

"Aren't you going to do something!?" Soichiro Yagami asked angrily.

"Nothing." L dropped sugar cubes into his drink. "The Shinigami can handle it. But."

"But what?" A few people asked.

"Mello-San's companion was the one called Rod Ross, correct? Now that Mello-San is gone, it seems most sensible to-"

Rod Ross stood up accusingly as L's words were cut off by yet another lurch of the boat. Ross lost his footing and tipped over the edge. He was lost to the liquid chocolate.

"What is going on!?" Soichiro shouted, standing up. "That's two people lost within the first hour of this tour!" He stared at L, who had finished his coffee and was silently watching Soichiro. "What's going to happen to them!? Are they even still alive!?"

"They will be fine." L kept an even tone. "As I said, the Shinigami will take care of this. Besides, you're also standing. I'd advise sitting down, or you might fall as well."

Soichiro closed his mouth and glared at L before sitting down.

The boat arrived at a dock soon, and L instructed the remaining party to step off carefully. "The next leg of our tour awaits."

They walked down the colorful halls until they approached a set of double-doors, light blue with black lace-like patterns painted on.

"What a pretty design!" Misa bounced on her heels, admiring the door.

Light glanced at Misa strangely before taking a few steps to stand beside L, a smile on his face. "So, where are we going next?"

"In time, Light-Kun. I don't want to spoil anything for you." L said as they stopped right in front of the gothic doors. L took a ring of keys from his pocket that jingled as he chose one of the larger keys and unlocked the double-doors, and everyone watched eagerly as they slowly creaked open.

Inside those doors, the room was a lot different than the first, looking more like Frankenstein, with clear tubes filled with colorful liquids framing the dull gray walls. Grinding conveyor belts displayed small randomly colored pellets that collected in bins at the end.

L waved a hand at the machinery. "This is the room where I experiment with new types of sweets." He turned to the group behind him. "Please don't touch anything unless I say you may. Some of the things here are too unstable, and not yet ready for human testing."

"What experiment are you working on right now?" Light asked, his eyes flooded with awe and amazement.

"Multiple ones, actually. That station is creating the first prototypes of a special kind of apple that will turn your vision into that of a Shinigami's for an hour after you finish eating the apple." He points to a complicated machine on the far side of the room. His gaze moved to a contraption much closer to them, which was packaging tiny pink boxes. "I… don't remember what's going on here." He picked up a pink box and undid the white bow before glancing at what was inside. "Ah, yes." He turned back to the ticket winners and guardians. "These hard candies will cause two people to fall in love with each other," he explains as he flips the box over and two pink-and-red hearts fell onto his palm.

Misa's eyes widened, and she pushed her way to the front of the group. "That sounds amazing! Can I have a box!?"

L placed the hearts back in their pink box and set it to the side. "The recipe isn't complete yet, and I haven't found a way to test them yet. So, no, I can't give you any of these."

Misa huffed and crossed her arms. "Whaddya mean you don't have a way to test them? You've got your Shinigami, don't you?"

"It's impossible for Shinigami to fall in love with each other, so I can't test this product on them."

Misa grumbled as L proceeded to explain the rest of the experiments being conducted. Her eyes gradually shifted to the machine that was making the Shinigami apples. Briefly watching L to see that he wasn't watching, she casually wandered over to the machine and stole one of the apples off the conveyor belt and hurriedly ran back to the group.

"Follow me now, we're going to the next room," L called to everyone.

They all exited the room and walked down the halls. Misa held back at the rear of the crowd, being careful to hide the fact that she had stolen one of L's test products.

However, Near had seen her run over to the machine, but he didn't say so. He knew that they weren't stable enough for people yet, and frankly, he wanted to see what would happen.

As nonchalantly as she could, Misa took a bite of the apple when no one was looking. It was delicious: perfectly sweet, and much juicier than any regular apple she had eaten. Before she knew it she had eaten the whole thing.

After a moment, she became confused. _Didn't L say that whoever ate the apple's vision would change?_ Misa thought. _I can't see anything differently._ After a second though, she nearly lost her balance from the sudden change. Everything flashed shades of red, and everyone had their names floating over their heads with strings of numbers underneath.

 _Is this how Shinigami see the world?_ She thought. _It's really cool but kinda weird._ She looked around at the hallways, enjoying how different they looked from before, with all of the colors being overshadowed by crimson.

A few minutes later, Misa began to feel very strange. She felt as if she was growing taller and thinner, almost as if she were floating. She looked down at her feet, and gasped. They were a lot larger than before, and… pointier?

"L-L!? What's going on!?" Misa stuttered out, and nearly choked. Her voice had changed, and was much deeper and raspier.

L turned around, and his eyes were wide. "Misa-San!? What happened?"

"I-I don't know! I was just walking here with you, and this happened!" Misa cried. What was happening to her!?

"I think I know what happened."

Everyone turned to the little white figure standing beside Misa.

"What happened?" Light asked, panic in his eyes and voice.

Near calmly looked at Misa and held his hand out expectantly. Misa's shoulders fell, and she dropped the Shinigami apple core into his hand as everyone gasped.

"It's quite simple, really," Near started to explain. "After L mentioned the apples that gave one the vision of a Shinigami, Misa became interested. Considering that Misa is a celebrity, it can most likely be said that she doesn't like sweets because of their unhealthiness. Is that correct?"

Misa nodded sadly.

Near continued, "So when L explained a special fruit instead of another type of candy, she couldn't help herself. So she took and ate one of the apples. But," he paused for the dramatic effect. "L said that the apples weren't yet ready for humans, so it should've been assumed that something would happen. And that something was Misa not just gaining the temporary eyes of a Shinigami, but in fact transforming into one."

L stared at Near, impressed at his deduction skills. "Is everything Near-Kun said true?"

Misa stared at her grotesque feet with a guilty haze to her eyes.

L sighed. "Well, I guess there's only one thing to do now. Rem," He called into the air, and a white Shinigami flew down to the group.

"Yes, L?" Rem answered.

"Please escort Misa-San and Matsuda-San away. You know where they need to go."

Rem briefly looked at Misa before looking back at L, and L nodded. "Of course, L."

"Where are they going?" Soichiro asked.

"You don't need to worry about that. They'll be fine. Besides, our tour isn't over yet."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"What else could there be to see?" Rester whispered to Near as they kept walking along the hallways. "We've lost four people now, and L doesn't seem to mind in the least."

Near lifted a shoulder as a shrug.

Rester glanced at L before looking back at Near. "How did you figure all that stuff about Misa out anyway?"

"It wasn't that hard, anyone could've been able to figure it out if they weren't freaking out over it so much."

"I suppose," Rester said, turning his attention back to the front of the group, where they were approaching another set of double doors. These doors were blood red, with an ornate black cross painted on the door surrounded by golden accents.

Light gasped. "Who paints these doors? They're amazing!"

"I think it's hardly necessary," Soichiro said, staring at the doors strangely.

"Not necessary, but it makes it interesting," L explained as he unlocked the huge doors.

What was inside these doors, none could imagine. Unlike the plentiful atmospheres of the other two rooms, this one was barren and dark. Huge skeletons of creatures that never existed slowly crumbled, and debris from who-knows-where was scattered along the landscape.

"What on Earth is this room supposed to be?" Rester asked, staring up into the grayish, empty sky.

"This room is where the Shinigami go in their free time," L explains. "It's also where I send the completed sweets and products for shipment."

"How does that work?" Matt spoke for the first time in a while. "There's no doors to the outside world, and hell, this looks like a world of its own as it is."

"Over there is a special portal that lets my products be transported anywhere on Earth." L directs the remaining winners' attention to a large hole in the ground several feet away. Coming from it was a curious white glow.

"I don't believe it," Matt said, crossing his arms. "There's no way that's actually a working portal. What are you, Aperture Science?"

Light, however, was utterly amazed by the portal and the room they were in. This was the Shinigami's home, and it certainly looked so. _I wonder what it's like to be a Shinigami,_ he thought as he stared at one of the fantastical skeletons.

He walked over to the portal, and stared into it. He could almost feel himself being pulled in by the impossibility of its existence.

"Light!" Soichiro called, running towards him.

Then re realized it wasn't just a feeling. _Oh my god! I'm actually falling!_ Light tried to regain his balance, but he was too far over the edge for it to matter. He frenziedly clawed at the edge of the portal until he gained a hold of it. He held on for dear life as Soichiro stopped on the edge.

"Light! What were you thinking!?" Soichiro shouted.

"I don't know! I thought I was just standing on the edge, not falling off it!"

Soichiro kneeled down and grabbed onto Light's wrist with both hands, using all of his strength to try and pull him up.

But Light was too heavy for Soichiro. Light felt his fingers slipping from the edge, and Soichiro could feel his heels slowly sliding closer to the edge. "Matt! Rester!" Soichiro called to the others. "Help us!"

Rester ran to them, but he was just too slow. Light lost all hold, and Soichiro couldn't support his weight. They both fell down into the portal, disappearing into the white light.

Rester stopped dead in his tracks, horrified.

L reacted quickly. "Gelus!" His voice echoed through the room, and a meek stitched-together creature crawled to him.

"Gather a team of Shinigami and find out where Soichiro-San and Light-Kun went, as soon as possible."

Gelus began to crawl away, and L cleared his throat. "Everyone, we best leave so the Shinigami can do their job."

The remaining three looked around at the gathering team of Shinigami, and followed L out of the room.

Matt casually lit a cigarette, not seeming to care that nearly everyone had fallen prey to something in the factory, but Near began to grow suspicious. _Is he doing this on purpose?_ He stared at the man, the wrinkled dress shirt and dirty socks. He seemed almost unaware of the fact that six people had left the party. _What if all of these things are happening for a reason?_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Each time everyone walked through the halls of L's factory, "everyone" became a smaller and smaller number. Originally nine including L, it had shrunken to three, two winners and one guardian.

The next door that they approached was only a single door. Unlike the other doors, this one was a completely normal-looking door, a tannish with a bronze doorknob.

Surprisingly, it was unlocked. The room beyond the door had no lights, so it was completely black. There was no furniture, spare a desktop computer and an attached webcam.

"What's this room supposed to be?" Matt asked, straining to see in the darkness.

L walked to the computer and sat down in front of it. "This is my office." He took his top hat off and sat it down beside him.

"Why are we in your office?" Matt crossed his arms again.

"The tour is finished, but something still isn't complete." L turned the computer on, and the bright light from the monitor practically blinded the other three.

"What still has to be done?" Rester asked as he blinked repeatedly.

L looked behind him at the three. "The golden tickets, as you may remember, was supposed to help choose a successor to my name." He chewed on his thumb as he continued. "This tour was to help eliminate those who were unworthy."

"So all of those incidents _were_ on purpose!" Near and Rester said together.

"Yes, they were. But I can assure you, as I have before, they will all be perfectly fine."

Something didn't add up in Near's head. "If the tour's over, and the tour was supposed to choose a successor, then why are there two of us left?"

"That's what I'm now trying to figure out." L stared at the computer screen intently. "I suppose you may both be worthy successors to my name, but it's not what I originally planned for."

"Well, if it helps, I don't really care. I just came because I wasn't doing anything else today," Matt said. "I don't really want to become L."

L stares at Mat for a moment before looking at Near. "Well, I guess that settles this. Near-Kun, it seems that you win as the new L." He gave a small smile to the boy.

"Really?" Near wasn't at all sure what to think. Sure, this place was pretty cool, if he'd let himself be honest, but he didn't like sweets at all.

He was quiet for a long time, thinking about what to do. When the silence became painfully awkward, Near made up his mind.

"L?"

"Yes, Near-Kun?"

"May I give the factory to someone else?" Near asked. "I know you said I was the most 'worthy' one here, but I don't like sweets."

"I wouldn't recommend just giving the factory to someone else, but the two of you can co-run it."

Near considered that option, and nodded. "I can do that. So L, can you do me a favor?"

"Yes. What is it?"

"Can you get Mello for me? I have something to ask him."


End file.
